Terrible game again.
I watched the game mostly on fast forward, then started re-watching the game to count scoring chances. To me, it looked like the Wild were slow, especially entering the OZ, and were content to play on the boards and take low-percentage cross-ice passes that were almost always cut off. The Sens were much more likely to go to the middle of the ice with the puck and get a clean shot off. I would say part of that was the Sens playing a smart defensive game keeping the Wild to the outside while the Wild were caught trying to stretch the ice.
I know the shots blah blah blah, I counted 12 scoring chances for the Wild and 13 for Ottawa. Again, from what I saw, the Wild had a bunch of low percentage shots from the boards and even at center ice, while Ottawa had a good number of odd man situations with clearer lanes including some clean shots from the middle of the ice
This team is going to sink real fast if they can't figure out the PP. I know they get their shot advantage 5v5 and right now that's the fashionable thing to do, but the PP is still a part of the game, and they are terrible at it. Just nothing going.
I will say this. By far the best player on the ice was Mikko, who was shooting the puck as much as anyone else and a force around the net. Zucker had some great chances until he went quiet in the third. Granlund line also buzzed a bit first two periods but disappeared in the third.
On defense, I saw Suter cheating up a lot and playing with pretty much everyone else on the blueline as his partner. Dumba was very hit or miss. Prosser mostly invisible or miss. Scandella was leading the rush quite a bit. Reminds me of Burns. Folin had a quiet night.
Net scoring chances (all situations):
Coyle +2
Koivu +5
Fontaine -1
Zucker +2
Carter -3
Veilleux -3
Brodziak -3
Nino +1
Vanek 0
Pommer +3
Haula -1
Granlund +1
Folin -3
Scandella -2
Suter +3
Brodin +2
Prosser -4
Dumba -1
